News ¢ By the MCS Communications Team / Photo courtesy of Joshua Wan
“Everything I Am”
T
his year’s National Day Parade (NDP), themed
Dr Tan liked the ideas behind this ode to family,
“Together, a Stronger Singapore”, was rather different
togetherness, kindness and gratitude, and so Joshua was
from those we had been accustomed to—the large
commissioned to write the NDP song. Joshua shared: “The
large-scale events with thousands of performers and tens
songs I write tend to convey my point of view, so this
of thousands of spectators either at the Floating Platform,
year I’m writing as a father, a husband, a teacher and a
the National Stadium or the Padang.
musician, all of whom live in Singapore in 2020.” restrictions,
In the same spirit, the music video of “Everything I Am”
Singapore’s 55th birthday celebrations on 9 Aug were
focuses on the stories of everyday Singaporeans, 55 of
scaled down. The organisers of NDP 2020 hoped that
whom are featured in this year’s NDP.
But
due
to
COVID-19
social
distancing
Singaporeans would stay home and celebrate with their families instead, and watch the features on live broadcasts
When asked what his birthday wish for Singapore was,
on free-to-air television and internet platforms throughout
Joshua said, “Get well. Get back on your feet. But don’t
the day. The mobile columns, flypasts and fireworks were
forget the lessons you have learnt from this COVID-19
viewable from the heartlands.
experience: spend more time with family and loved ones, learn to cook at least three dishes yourself so you can
Joshua Wan, who is an Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) alumnus
survive at home without repeating your menu more than
and attends Church of our Saviour, composed “Everything
twice a week, and take your dog for a long walk at least
I Am”, the NDP 2020 theme song. It was performed by
once a day.”
Nathan Hartono, who also attended ACS. Joshua wrote the theme songs for NDPs in 2003 (“One United People”) and 2006 (“My Island Home”), and was also the parade’s musical director those years. Joshua and Dr Sydney Tan, the NDP 2020 musical director, used to be part of All Good Gifts Ministries, a para-church music ministry during the 1990s–2000s. Earlier in the year, before COVID-19 became a global emergency, sending into our homes and behind our masks, Joshua had coincidentally been thinking about how, if he were to write an NDP song, it would be about “how blessed we were in Singapore, how freely we can pursue opportunities, and how we sometimes take these freedoms for granted. How, if we are given a thing of value that we did not earn or pay for, and continue to be given it year after year, we tend to start to view it as an entitlement and not as a blessing. Worse still, it starts to lose its inherent value in our eyes. “I wanted to remember the blessings of those that went before us and, in turn, remember to be blessings to those who come after.”
METHODIST MESSAGE SEPTEMBER 2020
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